10 Ways to Make Money While Traveling the World

Travel can be a very expensive endeavor. Even if you budget your trip well, don’t spend beyond your means, and stay at the cheapest of hostels cooking pasta every night, you may find yourself spending a lot more money than you anticipated. 

But travel expenses don’t have to be unmanageable. There are ways to make money while traveling, and they can even be surprisingly easy at times. 

You may not necessarily become a millionaire by working and traveling, but you will become rich with experiences, stories, and friends.

Travel is always extremely rewarding and if you’re able to lengthen your travels by working as you go, then you can create even more memories and explore even more destinations and cultures. ‍

Here Are 10 Accessible Ways to Make Money While Traveling:‍

There are so many possibilities to make money while traveling if you are creative and utilize your own unique skills. Try one of these 10 possibilities, or branch out in a different way to monetize your own talents and abilities. 

Whatever the case may be, don’t let money stand in the way of your wanderlusting spirit.

‍1. Do a Work Exchange‍

So this may not actually be a way to make money while traveling, but at least you won’t lose money. Utilizing a work exchange program offers a great opportunity to set up a temporary home base in a new place. 

Many companies and organizations will offer accommodation and sometimes food or even a little extra spending cash in exchange for a few hours of work per day or week. This provides a great opportunity to meet new people and save a few bucks while traveling. 

Work exchange opportunities can range from organic gardening to cleaning toilets, so choose an option that suits your abilities and level of comfort. Check out HelpX.net or WWOOF.org for some exchange opportunities to get the ball rolling on your next travels.‍

2. House Sit‍

Another great way to set up a temporary home base abroad is to house sit. No special skills are required—just the ability to pack a bag and commit to a specified period of time. 

House sitting “jobs” can last from one week to one year or anything in between. While these gigs typically don’t pay exceptionally well (if at all), they do provide you with free accommodation while you look after the owners’ property. 

There’s no better way to travel than negating the most expensive cost of your trip: accommodation. Need help getting started on this endeavor? Take some advice from the experts.‍

‍3. Photograph‍

Travel photography is an excellent way to make some extra cash during your travels and to get your creative juices flowing. 

If your Instagram photos are super popular, then you may want to invest in a professional camera to fully actualize your skills. Or if you’re already a professional photographer, then definitely make the most of your abilities and catch the most awe-inspiring shots. 

Travel photos can be in high demand and you can sell your beautiful captures to travel magazines or websites or companies that purchase and sell stock imagery.‍

4. Busk‍

Is music your special talent? Then pack your guitar or your drums or your microphone and hit the busiest streets of the cities you visit. 

Are you a skilled mime? Then take your face paint, your best Marcel Marceau impressions, and set up a coin collection box in front of your performance space. 

Whatever your special skill is, taking it to the street is one of the best ways to make money while traveling. Be sure to research the laws of the countries and cities you’re visiting though, as this is not legal everywhere and sometimes permits are required.

5. Teach Surf, Dance, Yoga, Exercise, Scuba, etc.

Whatever your specialty skill is, if you can make money from it at home, then you can also use it as one of your ways to make money while traveling. 

Teach surfing, dance, yoga, fitness classes, scuba diving, white water rafting, musical instruments, coding, design, or whatever your skill sets encompass. 

Find a good studio or school to ask if they’re hiring. Or set up fliers around town offering classes at a public location (like the beach or park) or private sessions and wait for the students to come to you. 

Want to learn to teach yoga? Join Nomad Yoga for a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in a paradise location!

6. Blog

If writing is your forte, then travel blogging or article writing is your best bet to make money while traveling. 

People love to live vicariously through your stories or hear your hottest tips about where to travel next or what to see. 

Blogging takes a great deal of time and commitment to find success, so if you’re looking to share your love of travel with perhaps a little less effort, you can look into having some articles published through different travel websites or magazines. 

7. Au Pair‍

If you love kids and maybe even speak a foreign language, then this is the gig for you. Find a job as an au pair and you can move to a foreign country to play with kids all day and maybe prepare a meal or two or tidy up the house. 

You’ll receive free room and board and a paycheck, as you’re welcomed into a family in a foreign culture. In your free time, you’ll be able to roam free traveling and exploring the sites. 

English-speaking au pairs are highly sought after internationally, so if this sounds appealing to you, then au pairing is a great way to make money while traveling. Check out AuPairWorld.com or any other of the many sites for au pair opportunities.‍

8. Get a Working Holiday Visa‍

Depending on your nationality, there are countries that you can move to for a year or beyond with legal permission from the government to live and work in that country. 

Typically you need to be under 30, have a minimum balance in your bank account, be of sound health and mind, and apply and be approved before you arrive for a working holiday visa to be eligible. 

But once you have that document attached to your passport, you will be able to live and work in that country almost as a resident (with some restrictions) allowing you to find temporary work in jobs like bartending or more permanent work in your career field.

You can choose whichever option suits you best, so you can either stay put in one place really setting roots or move around a lot throughout the country you’re visiting to experience a taste of everything.

However you choose to swing it, a working holiday visa is definitely one of the easiest and simplest ways to make money while traveling.‍

Curious about expat life? Read all about The Pura Vida Lifestyle of an Expat in Costa Rica

9. Teach English‍

Likely one of the most utilized ways to make money while traveling is teaching English abroad. 

English is certainly the international language of the world so native English speakers are highly sought after internationally to teach this ubiquitous language. Often you don’t even need to be certified to teach English if it is your native tongue. 

Countless countries around the world hire English teachers and tutors, and some offer very good compensation packages. So if teaching is your thing and you have a strong grasp over the English language, then this is an excellent option for you.‍

10. Work Remotely‍

If you’re already an expert in your field and you can take your job on the road working remotely from your laptop, then you’re already 10 steps ahead in the game of travel.

Utilize your coding skills or design abilities or editing talents to take your work out of the office and into the land of remote employment. 

With no place to be from nine to five, your imagination is the limit for your travels and you don’t even need to worry about hauling in some extra cash because you still have your pretty paycheck streaming straight into your bank account.‍

Of course, you still have to make time to get your work done, but you don't need to be tied down by a traditional work schedule.

There Are So Many Ways to Make Money While Traveling‍

These 10 suggestions are really just the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, the sky's the limit when it comes to finding ways to make money while traveling. 

There are so many options and opportunities available if you just research a little and get creative with your skills. 

You don’t need to spend 20 years saving for a one-week trip. You just need to have a little sense of adventure and a savvy ability to monetize what it is that you do best. You’d likely be surprised to find how easy it can actually be to make money while traveling.

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‍Learn One of These Skills: Train to Teach Yoga With Nomad Yoga

Join Nomad Yoga for a transformative journey into the world of yoga and travel! Our Yoga Alliance accredited 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings are designed to move you deeper into your personal practice while simultaneously preparing you to offer your teachings to the world. 

Practice overlooking iconic, exotic views and nourish yourself through travel. Bring your yoga practice to beautiful destinations around the world and watch the magic that unfolds.